Measles at record levels in US as parents refuse vaccination

By Mike Stobbe

New York: US health officials on Thursday reported 971 measles cases so far this year, the highest tally in 27 years, and experts say it's not clear when the wave of illnesses will stop.

Measles, once common in the US, became rare after vaccination campaigns that started in the 1960s. A decade ago, there were fewer than 100 cases a year.

States in the US are debating whether to make it harder to avoid measles vaccination.Credit:AP

The nation last saw this many cases in 1992, when more than 2200 were reported.

Overall vaccination rates have remained fairly high, but outbreaks have been happening in communities where parents have refused recommended shots, US health officials say.

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"What's causing these outbreaks is lack of vaccination," said Dr. Mark Roberts, chair of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

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Illnesses have been reported in 26 states, but the vast majority are in New York City.

The city's outbreak, which began last October, is already the largest local measles outbreak in the US in nearly 30 years. It started when some unvaccinated children visited Israel, where a measles outbreak is occurring, and came back to New York.

More than 500 cases have been diagnosed in two Brooklyn neighbourhoods - Williamsburg and Borough Park - and mainly among unvaccinated children in Orthodox Jewish communities. Forty-two have been hospitalized, including 12 treated in intensive care units.

More than 25,000 doses of vaccine have been given to children and teenagers in those two neighbourhoods since October.

Some have been motivated by a city order issued in April that all children and adults who live in four areas of Brooklyn be vaccinated or face fines up to $US1000 ($1445). City officials say 123 people have received summonses for not complying with the order.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.Credit:AP

The city health department has put 400 people to work on the outbreak, and forged new relationships with community organisations to make a better case for vaccinations.

The officials believe it's all paying off. New measles diagnoses dropped from 173 last month to 60 this month.

"I'm confident that the work that we have put in place ... put us on the right trajectory to bring this outbreak to an end soon," said Dr Oxiris Barbot, New York City's health commissioner.

The highly infectious disease is especially dangerous for young children who haven't had the MMR vaccination.

Some health experts see the current outbreak as a sign that other vaccine-preventable illnesses could worsen.

"Measles is incredibly contagious," CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in a statement. "We need to act together now to stop this outbreak before there are even more serious consequences."

In most people, measles causes fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. However, a very small fraction of those infected can suffer complications such as pneumonia and a dangerous swelling of the brain. According to the CDC, for every 1000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it. No deaths have been reported this year.

The CDC recommends a combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine for everyone over a year old, except for people who had the disease as children. Those who have had measles are immune.

The worst year for measles in modern US history was 1958, with more than 763,000 reported cases and 552 deaths. The numbers fell dramatically after a vaccine became available in the 1960s and by the 1983 the annual case count dipped below 1500.